PEOPLE living in the villages around Nantwich will be among the first to benefit from a breakthrough in rural policing.

A mobile police station ­- the first in Cheshire ­- has been launched at Bunbury. In the coming weeks it will be taken out around the Nantwich area.

The unit is being welcomed by campaigners who claim the rural areas have had a raw deal over the past few years following the policy to close village police houses.

And no-one will be celebrating more than Leila Potter from Bunbury, chairman of the Blue Lamp campaign, which has battled for the past 16 months for better rural policing.

She said: 'It makes us feel that these months have not been in vain.

'Everyone is obviously delighted with the mobile unit. It will provide what we have always said we wanted ­ policemen to be seen in our villages.

'I hope it proves to be a tremendous success and that more may follow.'

Mrs Potter said that the campaign, which has 17 councillors from parish to county level among its supporters, would continue.

She added: 'We plan to stay together as a kind of watchdog committee and, of course, we will be monitoring the new unit and its visits to the various villages in the area.'

The head of Crewe and Nantwich Police, Superintendent Mary Roberts said that although regular patrols were made through rural areas, there had been a feeling among villagers that police officers were not seen.

She told members of Nantwich Town Council: 'The mobile unit will bring a visible police presence to these areas.

'Nantwich, with its large outlying districts is, in fact, the biggest geographical area in the Crewe police division, and we are keen to police it as effectively as we can.'

Sergeant Phil Hill, who is based at Nantwich police station, has welcomed the mobile unit.

He said: 'It will be staffed by two officers. One will stay in the unit during its visit to the various villages, to be available to talk to members of the public, and the other officer will patrol the area.

'The unit is part of our new sector policing policy and the idea is to get police officers in places where they can be seen. It will be parked at strategic points in the various villages, and the officers will welcome as much contact with the public as possible.

'We are sure the mobile unit will help give people in the outlying areas a feeling that they are being looked after by the police.'